By Victoria Jones
August 2, 2006 President's Schedule The President met this morning with the Secretary of Defense. He will meet later this morning with Republican members of the Senate. He will have policy time at 1 pm. There will be a meeting with the Secretary of the Treasury. There will be a photo opportunity with Make A Wish Foundation children. He will then go to Ohio for a briefing at the Lake County Emergency Management Agency. A state of emergency has been declared following some flooding. He will then attend an Ohioans for Blackwell reception.

At the end of the week the President heads to Crawford. Secretary Rice will join him over the weekend. He will remain in Crawford until next Thursday. His first mid-term campaign event will take place then. There will be a lot of travel during August. This will be the only extended stay in Crawford during the month of August. There is a wedding in Kennebunkport one weekend in August. There will be some time at Camp David, with some of that time spent in staff meetings. The President will mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf region. Middle East White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked whether the President realizes that a delay in a ceasefire means that many more people will be killed. Snow replied that the President is not unilaterally handling all these matters. There are consultations with members of the UN Security Council. The French and the Americans in particular are working closely together on a resolution. The US is for a ceasefire that is sustainable. An immediate ceasefire without guarantees that both parties will play along with is not a ceasefire, but is an illusion, Snow said. The US continues to work on a UN resolution that does several things: (a) has a sustainable ceasefire; (b) that the sustainable ceasefire involves a multinational force in support of the Lebanese armed forces to make sure the government of Lebanon is able to secure the entire nation. Snow was asked whether the rate of progress has slowed as far as the diplomatic efforts are concerned. Snow replied that people think there is considerable progress. In the last couple of weeks, there was the G8 statement, Rome and the EU. The EU called for a cessation of hostilities. The people at the State Department think they are making progress within the Security Council and particularly working with the French. Asked whether a ceasefire is days, not weeks away, as Secretary Rice has said, or weeks, not months, as Shimon Peres has said, Snow replied days – but whether the end of this week, or into next week, he could not say for sure. Asked what are the conditions for a sustainable ceasefire, Snow replied, "Hezbollah ceases to function as an independent militia within southern Lebanon". Saudi Arabia A reporter said that in an on the record meeting, the Saudi Ambassador told reporters that the Saudis sent a letter to President Bush two months ago, mapping out a possible solution to the Middle East violence. The Ambassador said there was no follow through, and that the United States is now supporting a war on Lebanon and Palestine. Snow was asked what the status is. Snow replied that the administration does not comment on private communications with the President. The administration was the first to acknowledge the need for an independent Palestinian state. The US continues to push for that. The Saudis are very important allies, and we have already commended their commitment in getting ahead with humanitarian aid when it comes to Lebanon. We look forward to their playing a constructive role in making peace in the region. They were also the first to come out in the Arab world and criticize Hezbollah for the aggression that started the present conflict. John Bolton Nomination Asked whether he was worried about the delay in the vote for John Bolton's confirmation to be US Ambassador to the UN, Snow replied that they knew it would happen because of the Senate's summer recess. They expect a September vote. White House Briefing Room Snow was asked if the White House media will be allowed back in the briefing room after the renovations are complete. Snow replied that they will be back. Ceiling tiles have been falling, it is excessively hot, the carpet needs repairing, and the facility needs refurbishing to make it state of the art and as user friendly as possible. Snow said that he looks forward to the repairs being finished, as he will have to walk through bad weather twice a day to briefings in the interim. "Yes, you will be back, and it will be better than ever", he said. He refused to speculate on construction times. He said he did not know the budget, but that they intend to stay within it. He did not speculate on the new layout of the briefing room.